Arise
New Harrow-Based Political Party

Formed by community campaigners and residents who believe we deserve better

Our Policies

We are dedicated to addressing the systemic challenges facing Harrow. Our policies focus on creating a fairer, more supportive community where everyone can thrive. Explore our key priorities below and join us in building a community that serves the needs of the people.

Community Spaces

Community spaces are essential for building strong, healthy, and connected neighbourhoods. Harrow lacks such places. We will:

  • Identify and re-purpose empty buildings in Harrow for community use.
  • Create a “space bank” to identify and track available community spaces.
  • Ensure community spaces are accessible to all residents.
  • Prioritise bringing community spaces into town centres so they are easier for residents to access and more accessible for young people.
  • Increase transparency in how community spaces are allocated through the voluntary sector.
  • Create designated dog areas in parks.
  • Repair and maintain park fences.

Housing

In Harrow housing has become a daily crisis for thousands. We will:

  • Increase the supply of council-owned housing by building new homes and purchasing properties for social housing.
  • Ensure all new housing developments include at least 50% genuinely affordable homes.
  • Take a zero-tolerance approach to rogue landlords.
  • Push for more rogue landlords to be prosecuted and reinvest the resulting fines into housing enforcement.
  • Commit to the ACORN housing pledges.
  • Support rent controls.
  • Support a bailiff-free London.

Poverty

Harrow’s economy runs on the hard work of carers, cleaners, shop workers, delivery drivers, council staff, and NHS workers. Over 22% of workers in Harrow earn below the London living wage.

Poor pay and insecure contracts leave people relying on state benefits and food banks to make ends meet. At the same time state benefits are being cut drastically. To combat this we will:

  • Support the creation of a community supermarket.
  • Support a local food delivery service that tackles poverty and creates secure employment.
  • Establish a local social fund to provide families with essential items when they move into social housing.
  • Provide free school uniforms for state school pupils living in Harrow.
  • Extend free school meals to all children in state schools.

Palestine

  • Divest pension funds from companies linked to violations of international law.
  • Review procurement contracts and divest from companies connected to the situation in Palestine.
  • All Arise councillors will sign the Palestine Solidarity Campaign pledge.

Education & SEN Provision

  • Produce regular reports on school exclusions to ensure there is a thorough investigation into the number of cases and the reasons behind them.
  • Introduce parent drop-in sessions for families trying to access support for their child’s special needs, run by qualified professionals.
  • Advocate for more support staff for children with SEN and review and improve current SEN provision.
  • Protect the continuation of EHCPs and ensure EHCP money is spent by schools as intended.
  • Develop a youth strategy that includes life skills workshops.
  • Take a stronger approach to enforcing the Disability Rights Act to help prevent children from being excluded from school.
  • Judicially review the panel that reviews children’s cases.

Social Care

  • Work towards providing free adult home social care.
  • Include services such as meals on wheels as part of this provision.
  • Bring care homes back under public control where possible.
  • Explore building an emergency care home for children, similar to the model recently introduced in London Borough of Brent.

Disability

  • Ensure all councillors are fully up to date on disability rights and relevant laws.
  • Hold the council accountable for fully upholding its legal responsibilities to people with disabilities.
  • Push for a cultural shift within the council so that the needs and voices of the disability community are placed at the centre of decision making.

Support our campaign for a better Harrow

Under UK election law, we can only accept donations from people who are on the UK electoral register. If you are donating on behalf of someone else, they must also be on the electoral register and you must let us know who they are (using the Comment box).

Become a Volunteer

We are looking forward to working with activists from across Harrow – your support means a lot. Please fill in the short form below and someone will be in touch with you about how you can help the campaign in Harrow.

PEOPLE-POWERED MOVEMENT

Volunteer with Arise

We are excited to have you join our team of passionate volunteers who are dedicated to creating a better Harrow.
Volunteering with us is a great way to get involved, meet new people, and make a real impact in our community.

  • Help improve housing, local services, and social justice in Harrow.
  • Work alongside neighbours to create a better place to live.
  • Learn new skills and gain valuable experience in community work.
  • Connect with like-minded individuals who care about making positive changes.